Re: Hey Sam!

In Reply to: Re: Hey Sam! posted by Dave on December 03, 1999 at 01:24:33:

hey dave! how's it going? i'm gonna' be out there for a few days next week. wanna hook up? i'll contact you via your email and see if we can work something out.

: : I've heard costs for overseas production - BG's and rough animation thru "work print" (if you'll allow me to use that word for convenience's sake) - for anywhere from $125,000 to $200,000, depending on the series and the studio. Do you know we can beat those costs here in the US? And that's with good animators making good money, and less experienced or less productive animators making decent money. The key, as Dave Brewster has said, is in the director. Directors who are overly finicky can kill animators and deadlines alike.

it's amazing sometimes what a director/producer can do to try invent to "dress up" a weak concept/story.The "Powder Puff Girls" is a good example that demonstrates the idea that "it doesn't have to move that much to be funny or entertaining." this applies, in many cases, to the demands and budget/time constraints of series work. in terms of tv stuff, i personally would rather watch something like PPG rather than watching characters that move..."just because", with no real conviction or motivation.

: In series work your edge is your ability to execute quickly and to keep it fresh. When series directors (or producers) eat all the animation production time to rework it or play indecisive with details can be living hell (oh yes, that is why they love to send it to people overseas, because they gain time themselves without having to be responsible). The limited time you get to do the work is too short for that so it is usually the production crew that makes that up. When I was doing series we lived in the studio.

: This also applies to long distance features.I worked on for countries outside (Europe and the US when it was not economically advantagous to do so). Of those long distance productions Bill Kroyer was the best director. He was specific and clear in exactly what he wanted from the scene and if the scene hit the mark (even if it wasn't EXACTLY what he would have done) he was ok with it. It can be total joy to know you are not going to have to change an entire scene because the director had something a little different in mind. Really good directors dont direct after the scene is done but let you know what they expect before hand. Having vision.

one thing that helps in the long-distance feature realm is that the internet can allow for more direct and immediate communication than before.i can send a scene and ten minutes later, get a critique. that's really helpful. the same problems still can arise though. it actually seems to be easier to do an entire sequence than a scene here and a scene there. nothing can be more frustrating that working with an indecisive director, especially if it's by the foot and you're in another state/country.